A History of South Melbourne South Melbourne, between the south bank of the Yarra River and Port Phillip Bay and 2km from the centre of Melbourne, originated at the elevated area first known as Emerald Hill. An old volcanic outcrop, Emerald Hill stood out from the surrounding swamp land and had greener vegetation. Its elevation above the Yarra delta attracted the initial European settlement. Before the European settlement of Melbourne in 1835, the area featured a single hill (where the Town Hall now stands) surrounded by swamps. During summer, the surrounding swamp land dried out. The hill was a traditional social and ceremonial meeting place for Aboriginal tribes. Early European settlement south of the Yarra River was focused on Sandridge (Port Melbourne), which was linked to Melbourne by a track from a pier at Sandridge Beach. Land sales in today s South Melbourne were few during the 1840s, but in 1852 a survey of Emerald Hill resulted in the auction of subdivided lots. Grants of land were made to the Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian and Wesleyan churches, and the pick of the blocks was given to the Melbourne Protestant Orphan Asylum. Settlement of Emerald Hill happened quickly and within two years its residents were complaining that the Melbourne City Council was not giving them value for their rates. On 26 May, 1855, Emerald Hill was proclaimed a separate borough, one of Melbourne s first. At the time of the survey of Emerald Hill in 1852 a temporary township was created west of St. Kilda Road, south of the river. Known as Canvas Town, it was a low-lying area with tent accommodation for gold-field immigrants. The area soon became a massive slum, home to tens of thousands of migrants from around the world. Many of the residents of Canvas Town moved to prefabricated cottages in suburbs like Collingwood and South Melbourne and some of these early homes remain in South Melbourne's Coventry Street. The opening of the Melbourne to Hobson s Bay railway in 1854 did not benefit Emerald Hill very much because it skirted the area, but the Melbourne to St. Kilda line (1857) had an Emerald Hill station by 1858. The land around Emerald Hill remained unsuitable for housing or industry until it could be drained. The Victoria Barracks, on higher land in St. Kilda Road, was built in 1859, and the military freely roamed the area: rifle butts were in Albert Park and a shore battery was at the end of Kerferd Road for the defence of Port Phillip. In 1863 massive floods inundated the surrounding area and the few optimistic infant industries. Although flood mitigation did not gain a significant boost until the Coode Canal (1887), land reclamation, drainage and river embankment works encouraged settlement on the flat area. In the 1870s cottages were built at Montague, but the road levels were above those of the housing lots. Small sites, ill-drained yards and accumulated rubbish created a culture which provided the ill-famed larrikin push the Montagues. A better housing outlook was created at Albert
Park, particularly when the lagoon was excavated to form a lake for boat jaunts. The new municipality developed rapidly, and by 1872 Emerald Hill was proclaimed a town. During the late 1870s, South Melbourne became a favoured place of residents for Melbourne's middle class with fashionable terraced housing becoming the norm including some English style squares, the best example of which was St Vincent Gardens. The South Melbourne Town Hall was built between 1879 and 1880 and designed in suitable grandeur to evoke the city's booming status establishing a civic heart at Bank Street bordered by Clarendon, Park, Cecil and Dorcas Streets. In 1883 Emerald Hill became a city, changing its official name to South Melbourne. In March 1872, Emerald Hill was proclaimed a town which led to the council moving its town hall from Cecil Street to the site occupied by the Protestant Orphan Asylum. While the town hall move was under way, John Danks was mayor. His time as a councillor ran from 1871 to 1880. Danks hardware foundry and supply of plumbing material was a major industry. Industries along the river side had been mainly noxious, imparting unpleasantness to the growing residential areas. The Harbor Trust (1877) forced the industries to move downstream, and manufacturing replaced them, drawn by the better access across the Falls (later Queens Street) Bridge and the construction of South Wharf. The Montague work force supplied wharf labour. Football clubs were formed in the 1870s and in 1879 the South Melbourne club with red and white colours took its place in the Victorian Football Association. It was one of the founding clubs of the Victorian Football League in 1897. Emerald Hill town changed to South Melbourne on 25 September, 1883. Tram lines along Clarendon Street and Park Street were opened in 1890, along with the connection made to the city seven years before with a steam ferry between Clarendon and Spencer Street. Manufacturing and foodprocessing industries expanded back from the riverside. The giant red brick Tea House building, originally a stationer s warehouse (1890), is a surviving example in Clarendon Street. Notable food processors were Hoadley s Chocolates (later Allen s Sweets) and Sennit s ice-cream. In the later era of neon lights the Sennit s bear and the flashing Allen s confectionery sign became night time landmarks. Textile mills, timber merchants and furniture trades set up in the 1880s. Clarendon Street, in addition to having many food and drapery retailers, had furniture retailers. Maples, Tyes and Andersons began in South Melbourne and grew to become metropolitan chains. Crofts grocers, later a self-service pioneer in the early post-war years, also began in South Melbourne. At that time South Melbourne was receiving the first post-war migrants, who increased in the next two decades.
South Melbourne experienced a decline in the 1950s as Melbourne sprawled outwards. Like many other Melbourne inner city suburbs, during the 1960s the Housing Commission of Victoria stepped in and erected several high-rise public housing towers, the tallest and largest of which, Park Towers (c.1969) is in South Melbourne. 'Emerald Hill Court' is the other housing commission building located in South Melbourne (c.1962). The result was an injection of migrants adding to the multicultural flavour of the area. In the post-war years Melbourne s central business district spilled down St. Kilda Road. Land was cheaper and the council encouraged development attracted by the increased rates. In 1944 the State Government agreed with South Melbourne s council that the Wirth s circus site should be reserved for a cultural centre. Post-war shortages delayed the project, and the first part of the Art Centre was opened in 1968. By 1981 the population was less than half its post-war figure, and local support for the football club had waned. Its premierships had been won in 1909, 1918, 1933 and 1945, with only one finals appearance in 1970. In 1982 the Swans became the Sydney Swans, and the Lake Oval lost its main tenant. The particularly noticeable changes since the 1960s have included high-rise Housing Commission flats (Emerald Hill Court, 1962, and Park Towers, 1969), the Westgate Freeway (1975-95) and the development of Southbank. On a smaller scale there were the conversion of the South Melbourne Gas Works to a park (1992) and the conversion of the Castlemaine Brewery to the Malthouse Theatre (1987). In the 1980s, South Melbourne experienced one of Melbourne's biggest waves of gentrification. Many of the terrace homes were restored and renovated and a new middle class moved in. In common with inner residential areas, South Melbourne s house prices have outpaced the metropolitan trend. In 1987 the median South Melbourne house price was 37% above the median for metropolitan Melbourne, and in 1996 it was 70% above the metropolitan median. On 18 November 1993, the area of South Melbourne defined as Southbank and extending to Docklands was annexed to Melbourne city. On 22 June 1994, South Melbourne city was united with St. Kilda and Port Melbourne cities to form Port Phillip City. South Melbourne has seen an increase in population density due to apartment development in Southbank where development has spilled over from the Melbourne CBD. To the east, along St Kilda Road, are many high rise office buildings. As a result of the development of Southbank in the 1990s, Clarendon Street has become one of the highest rental yielding commercial streets in the entire city of Melbourne, attracting many of the residents from the apartment buildings to shop. Recently, there has been a number of high rise
developments within South Melbourne and at the Southbank end of Clarendon Street, including Australia's largest hotel. The old South Melbourne Town Hall precinct is home to some of Melbourne's best examples of Victorian architecture. South Melbourne s See Yup Temple is a Chinese temple built by the See Yup Society in 1856. The old South Melbourne football ground has become home to the Victorian Institute of Sport and Melbourne s most advanced athletics track. The South Melbourne Market remains the most dominant retail and commercial influence in South Melbourne. South Melbourne municipality s census populations were 1861: 8,822 1881: 25,374 1891: 41,724 1921: 46,873 1961: 32,528 1991: 17,712 Sources include Wiki and the Shawfactor website.
A Greek Market? The South Melbourne Market is sometimes referred to as a Greek Market. While some Greeks had moved to Australia before the Second World War, the largest wave of Greek migration occurred following the Second World War. South Melbourne had become a largely working class area and, combined with the new Housing Commission flats built in the 1960s, South Melbourne was popular with Greek migrants. A number became active in the Market. By the early 2000s, Greeks still operated a number of delicatessens, a butcher, two fish shops and a number of clothing and general merchandise stalls. With the ageing of the community and the gentrification of the suburb, many Greek residents moved on to other suburbs. The subsequent introduction of medium density and high density developments has further reduced the influence of Greek born people on the community. In 2006, 2.1% of the residents of South Melbourne were born in Greece (more than triple the proportion in all Australia). 3.8% spoke Greek at home (nearly triple the Australian average). The major countries of birth for South Melbourne (after Australia) are England, Indonesia, New Zealand, Greece and China.